Fraud stitch in Oberhausen: 80-year-old loses life savings!

Fraud stitch in Oberhausen: 80-year-old loses life savings!

On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, an 80-year-old woman was victim of a sophisticated fraud in Oberhausen-Alstaden. Around 1:45 p.m., the senior received a call from an unknown number. The caller pretended to be an employee of the National Bank and informed you about an alleged unjustified debit attempt of 4,500 euros. The woman rejected the transaction, but this led to another escalation of the case. The caller explained that her account had to be blocked and forwarded it to a supposed police officer.

This officer offered to come by personally to pick up the woman's bank card for an investigation. At 2:30 p.m., an unknown man actually appeared on her door who entered the apartment and accepted the bank card and pin. Only after her daughter's 80-year-old reported about this incident was reacted quickly and the card was closed; Fortunately, no debits were made up to this point. The Oberhausen police were informed about the incident and asks for help.

warning of the police

The police have now urged this fraud stitch, which in particular targets older people. The perpetrators often act with psychological pressure and try to gain their victims' trust. This not only happens on the phone, but can also occur at the front door, as a Brochure from police consultancy . Here not only false police officers, but also other fraud stitches such as the pretense of emergencies are discussed.

The description of the perpetrator who accepted the bank card shows it as a male, about 170 to 175 cm tall, corpulent with a European appearance and without a recognizable accent. Information on the incident can be given on 0208-826-0 or by email to poststelle.oberhausen@polizei.nrw.de

tips for protection against fraud

The police have published a number of advice to protect citizens from such fraud attempts:

• Never give personal data or account information on the phone.
• don't let yourself be put under pressure; Put on if someone seems suspicious.
• Never hand over bank cards or pins to strangers.
• If you suspect, contact the police immediately under number 110.
• inform your relatives and fellow human beings about current fraud stitches.

Although crime has decreased among older people as a whole, the phenomenon of fraud has increased in recent years. A study by the Max Planck Institute shows that older criminals are mostly men and mostly come from the middle of society. Older people are often overrepresented in crimes that are committed from a special weakness, which is reinforced by social factors, as the Deutschlandfunk reports.

The present cases illustrate how important it is to spread information about fraud stitches and to sensitize older people in their handling of financial matters. The demographic change also ensures that such preventive measures are particularly necessary: ​​more and more older people live alone and could therefore be easier for fraudsters.